DOUBT

The slow drip of doubt

Slides into view like a

Raindrop curling down

Some slick window pane.

The tiny drop is there,

Hardly noticeable, then,

Like the rain-splattered

Window, more drops form

Until all trust is drowned.

Clarity, valued with its

Naive transparency, has now

Dissolved, taking with it

The foundation of all hope.

Gone is that treasured bond,

Washed away by the tears of

Sadness and despair, sinking into

Abandonment and obscurity.

Time's Tape

The head aches

The hand shakes

The skin flakes

The eyes agape

The wrinkled nape

The stomach quakes

The mind slakes

The heart breaks

There are no breaks

So you cannot escape

GRAY MIST

long walks

gentle footsteps

cushioned by

green loam

on a rain

spattered path.

a gray mist

embraces you

in it's damp cocoon,

then disappears

into a silent twilight.

the quiet resilience

of today offers hope

for tomorrow as

the pain of yesterday

fades slowly into

that damp, gray mist.

SENSING SEDONA

Listen as:

The wind roars

Through the red

Painted canyon,

Howling against

Scorched walls

In a desperate

Search for release.

Watch as:

A setting western

Sun carves hollow

Shadows beneath

Snow tipped peaks,

A stark contrast caught

In a frozen tableau.

Smell as:

The scent of blood red clay

Stings the nostrils, a

Harsh reminder of

Natures omnipotence.

Feel as:

The cool wind washes over

Your entire being, leaving

You cold but refreshed.

Taste as:

The icy cold waters of a

Stream provides an

Incomparable taste while

Rushing to some long

Awaited destiny.

A BIRTHDAY BASHING

A birthday arrives, with it

A trumpeting demand to

“Open that door” to a hollow

Space in the corner of my mind.

It beckons me to travel back

Through a mist of yesterdays,

The questions erupting with

A spiritless conventionality,

With the arrogance and fear

To ignore unwanted answers.

Who was my birth mother?

Is she still alive, and if so,

Does she remember the pain?

Or the miracle of a new life?

Does she wonder, or care

Who I am?

Has the time come-or gone,

To reach out to that baby? The one

She held for only a moment,

So long ago? Is that her crucible?

Will she fail it, again? Do I want

To know the answers, today? Ever?

GETTIN' OLD

Starting to grow old

Gets to be a drain,

The mind is always

Racing but the body

Just remains.

Going to the gym is

All about working out

But go look in that

Damn mirror and

All you see is

STOUT.

Trying on those old

Jeans that use to

Look real cool, but

The button won’t

Go in that hole

And you look like

Some old fool. You

Know you put things

Somewhere, a place

You won’t forget,

Then you try and

Remember and can’t

Find them on a bet.

It seems that loss

Of memory is equal

To weight gained,

You keep on getting

Older but some things

Remain the same.

It’s all about the mind,

Ready to go on a tare,

But the body lags behind

Screaming “Hey, slow down,

I’m too old and this just isn’t fair.”

NOW

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Oh, just another day

Calling out: “Here is

A gift of new hope,

New opportunities”,

Perhaps a vision of

NOW?

Yet, the fear strangles

My gut, the question,

Always that question:

Is there a tomorrow?

The dread permeates

My soul and I can hear

That clock ticking, ever

A reminder that time is

A limited allusion, sifting

Through the fingers

Like hot sand on a July

Day at Coney Island.

Desperately I try to hold

On to those “sparkling

Diamonds”,knowing it

Is only a futile gesture.

Child like tears trickle

Down time worn cheeks,

Leaving random spots

On a threadbare shirt.

There is nothing left

To say or think, only

The painful effort to

Move forward, into

The only moment I have.